Plans
have been set in motion to get the nation's next space exploration
vehicle prepared for flight. Lockheed Martin announced this
week that they have a crew on-site at NASA's Kennedy Space Center to
began lean assembly path-finding operations for the
Orion spacecraft.

A full-scale Orion mock-up
is being used to conduct simulated manufacturing and assembly
operations to verify the tools, processes and spacecraft integration
procedures.

The finished product is expected to be
fully assembled by Lockheed Martin on the grounds of the Kennedy
Space Center according to a press
release from the company.

"The unique benefit of
this complete on-site operation is that we will build the spacecraft
and then move it directly onto the launch vehicle at KSC, which saves
the government transportation costs associated with tests and
checkout prior to launch,” said Lockheed Martin Orion Deputy
Program Manager for production operations Richard Harris. “This
capability also facilitates the KSC workforce transition efforts by
providing new job opportunities for those employees completing their
shuttle program assignments."

To help support NASA's
next generation spacecraft fleet, Lockheed Martin and NASA worked
together in a two-year effort on renovations for the Operations &
Checkout Facility at the Kennedy Space Center.

The
collaboration produced a new and improved "O&C".
Paperless workstations, a portable clean room system, portable
tooling stations, and air-bearing floor space were some of the
upgrades that resulted in the state-of-the-art complex being dubbed
the “the spacecraft factory of the future”. Lockheed
Martin is currently the prime contractor to NASA for the
Orion Project.

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